He has talked about the threat of staff safety and the danger of drink-fuelled public disorder, and last night went further by insisting he was trying to avert 'a tribal environment'.

And again, there is more frequent use of the 'I' word .. . . "I will not be pushed around" .. . . "I guess I am an easy target"

. . . "Someone has to front up and that's me. That's what I get paid for."

His whole tone and choice of phrase is deeply worrying for a man in his important position - one where sensitivity and good judgement is surely required.

It's almost as if he's having a very public, attention-seeking tantrum. And along the way he is affronting Liverpool, indeed all, football supporters.

What is important now is that Reds fans, whether they have a ticket or not on Saturday, or whether they get a nasty, sudden shock at the turnstiles, do not allow Sergeant to affect their mood or their standards of behaviour.

Given the club's gesture today to find new tickets for the crime victims, that should be minimal.

Liverpool fans have enjoyed fantastic, happy days at Cardiff in recent years and been welcomed by the city's people who have taken the Liverpool fans to their hearts.

That will be the case again over the next 48 hours.

It is important to under-stand that Sergeant is probably a man with a maverick nature, whatever his skills and his genuine difficulties in this matter.

He is not representative of Cardiff and you have to believe the vast majority of Cardiff's residents, and possibly many of his own stadium staff, disagree with him.

But we now have a mood of melodrama over an issue which football clubs and stadia frequently have to deal with. We hear of tickets being stolen or going missing for big games all the time.

There is never a storm, but this time one has been created. The whole issue has been overblown and could have been avoided.

But it has happened and it is time for all Liverpool fans to go to Cardiff in good spirits and be much bigger than Paul Sergeant.

They should forget him now, enjoy their day, cheer their team to the rafters and hope-fully help Liverpool return home with the FA Cup for the seventh time.

Perhaps that will help put a smile back on the faces of those poor fans who can't be there, thanks to a man who has simply made a mountain out of a rather large molehill.